Police Officer Hailed A Hero After Saving Life Of 9-Day-Old Baby Girl On The Side Of The Highway

Jul 15, 2021

In April 2021, Joe and Jody Schleicher from Pleasant Hills, Pennsylvania had a terrible scare when their 9-day-old daughter stopped breathing while they were driving along Route 51. Police officer Kristin Mitrisin was fortunately nearby, and Joe was able to honk his horn and get her attention. The Schleicher’s vehicle was stopped at a red light, and when Officer Mitrisin got closer, she could see the baby girl beginning to turn blue.

The police officer took the baby from her father’s arms and quickly began performing CPR. She spoke encouragingly to baby Olivia the entire time, and when a bystander came by to help, officer Mitrisin asked him to get the AED from her patrol car. They attached the AED to the baby but did not need to shock her as continued CPR allowed her to finally take a breath and let out a loud cry.

The sound of that initial cry was music to everyone’s ears. Officer Mitrisin decided not to wait for paramedics and instead drove baby Olivia to the hospital. The baby girl had to be admitted for a heart condition that will require surgery to fix. Olivia had an extended stay at Children’s Hospital, and it is unknown if she has returned home yet. The Schleicher family is incredibly grateful to officer Mitrisin and says she was the one who saved their daughter’s life.  

Back in April, the family said that if the police officer were willing, they would love to have her reconnect with baby Olivia whenever she is released from the hospital. They hope Mitrisin is proud of her actions that day because they see her as their personal hero. Read on to hear more about this incredible story.

The police officer who saved baby Olivia’s life has been very humble about her heroic actions. “I was just doing my job that day. You know, God put me at that place at that time. I’m just thankful that I was there to help them,” Mitrisin told CBS Local News. 

That day, Mitrisin was going about her duties when she saw Joe trying to flag her down. When she reached the vehicle, she immediately knew something was wrong. “He reaches out to me, the baby’s turning blue in her face and in her nose. So, he said, ‘Please, my baby can’t breathe, help me,'” officer Mitrisin said.

Performing CPR on a newborn baby is not an easy thing to do. The officer explained how it is done, saying, “You just use your two fingers, apply pressure down, and just keep going.” With the baby laid out on the back of her police pickup truck, she kept going until she heard baby Olivia begin to breathe again.

Officer Mitrisin explained, “Continued CPR, the baby took a breath, then there was a couple more seconds, another large breath, and then we got a few more shallow breaths, and then she started crying. And that was the best sound to hear.”

When asked what was going through her mind at that moment, the officer said, “Just thought, you know, what we have to do to get baby Olivia breathing. The mom said her name was Olivia, so I just kept saying ‘C’mon, baby Olivia, we can do this.’ And I just kept doing CPR on baby Olivia.” We are all thankful for her heroic actions and that she was in the right place at the right time.

What do you think of officer Mitrisin saving baby Olivia? Have you ever had to perform CPR on someone? Let us know, and be sure to send this on to your loved ones.